Fifty years ago, Pakistan’s only Nobel laureate Dr Abdus
Salam conceived the idea of the country’s first space research
programme and national space agency in 1961.
But today, the only achievement that Pakistan can boast of is the
successful launch of its first fully functional communication satellite,
the Paksat-1R, whose first anniversary comes this August.
This satellite, however, was not indigenously built. China was behind
Paksat-1R’s design, built, launch and even funding; only a few
components were built by our engineers.
India, on the other hand, has been able to launch around 60
satellites to date in spite of launching its space programme eight years
after Pakistan. It has even managed to launch its own unmanned lunar
probe, the Chandrayaan-1, into orbit in 2008.
So where did we go so wrong in our space programme?
One of the main differences between India and Pakistan’s space
agencies is that while one is headed by scientists, the other is
currently headed by retired army generals, and has been for the last 11
years.
The space agency of Pakistan too initially was headed by scientists
and many prominent names had a significant role. The last civilian
scientist to have headed the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere
Research Commission (Suparco) was Dr Abdul Majid, who planned the Paksat
communication satellite system and satellite launch vehicle projects.
On his retirement in April 2001, Majid handed over charge to Major
General (retd) Raza Hussain, whose tenure lasted till August, 2010.
Since then the Suparco fort is being held by Major General (retd) Ahmed Bilal.
On the other hand, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has
throughout its history been manned by scientists. Between 2001 and now,
India has managed to launch more than 30 satellites. Pakistan for the
same period managed only two satellites, including the Paksat-1, which
was an acquired dysfunctional satellite and the current full fledged
communication satellite Paksat-1R launched by China in 2011.
Early years
It was on Dr Salam’s advice that a Space Sciences Research Wing of
the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) was established. Later,
this wing became known as the Suparco in 1964.
To understand the significance of Salam’s forward thinking, who was
then the scientific advisor to President Ayub, one has to take into
account the fact that the world’s first satellite Sputnik-1 was launched
just recently in 1957 by Russia and the US was yet to plant its first
man on the moon.
Salam held a meeting with two PAEC scientists Dr Salim Mehmud and
Tariq Mustafa, who were studying abroad in 1960 in Washington, and
revealed that the Pakistan government had approved a classified mission
to begin its own space research programme. He advised the two young
scientists to join NASA to study rocket science.
NASA, during those years, was in a race to put an American on the
moon. In this connection, they invited Pakistan along with other
countries to participate in their project. NASA provided the two
scientists with rocket components to take back home along with training
and support on the condition that their findings would be shared.
It was in this connection that the Rahber series of rockets were
launched from Sonmiani Rocket Range in June, 1962 that conducted
experiments on the Earth’s atmosphere at a height of 130 kilometers.
Later, the Shahper series was also launched that conducted experiments
at a height of 150kms above the surface of earth.
Also, in the 60s, a Doppler radar tracking station was established in the country as part of a global network.
New facilities and labs were set up that received Spanish beacon
satellites, and feeds from an application satellite that had been
relocated in 1975 by Nasa over the Indian ocean for one year.
In 1973, American Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene A Cernan (Commander),
Ronald E Evans (Command Module Pilot) and Harrison H Schmitt (Lunar
Module Pilot) visited Karachi amid great fanfare. It was also during the
1970s that the Islamabad Ionospheric Station within Quaid-e-Azam
University was set up and the NASA Landsat ground station was
established near Rawat.
Everything, it seemed, was moving in the right direction.
Suparco under Zia
After General Ziaul Haq usurped power, he promulgated the Suparco
Ordinance No. XX of 1981, which granted the body autonomous status.
During the same period, a communication satellite project called Paksat was initiated.
Also, a 10-meter diameter satellite ground station for interception
of satellite transmissions was set up in 1983 that was mainly designed
against India.
A leading scientist back then,
the idea was to launch a satellite that could stage a ‘cultural counter
attack’ on India with the influx of new Pakistani TV channels.
But when Gen Zia visited the Suparco headquarters in 1984, he
announced an abrupt end to the Paksat project citing a lack of funds. It
was during this period that many scientists associated with Suparco
left the organisation. Funds were frozen, and there was a complete lack
of innovation.
Satellite mystery
Some scientists, however, refused to quit and carried on. It was
during this period that two ground stations in Karachi and Lahore were
set up in 1986 in preparation for the launch of Badr-1, which was an
experimental low earth orbiting satellite.
It was eventually launched on 16 July 1990 from China using the Long
March 2E launcher and completed its designed life for around 35 days.
The country’s second satellite Badr-B was then launched after much
delay on 10 Dec 2001 from the Baikonour Cosmodrome, Kazakistan.
An insider within Suparco says that to this day no one knows what
exactly happened to the satellite when contact was lost with it. The
cause was never fully investigated.
Expired orbital slots
When Pakistan failed to launch its Paksat satellites, the two orbital
slots 38 E longitude and 41 E longitude acquired for it in the Geo
Synchronous Orbit expired in 1994.
A new application for the allocation of five GSo slots (38E, 41E,
30E, 88E and 101E) was filed. Although granted, Pakistan faced the risk
of losing its priority 38 E slot, if it didn’t launch its own satellite
by April 2003.
Paksat-I
In December 2002, Pakistan acquired a satellite from the American
satellite-building firm Hughes Global Systems (HGS) at a cost of around
five million dollars.
HGS had designed a satellite for Indonesia, but after a battery
problem occurred making it useless during certain hours of the day, it
was sold to Pakistan as Paksat-1.
Later, General Pervez Musharraf would claim that “Pakistan’s space
programme is now ahead of India after the formal launching of Paksat-I
and this is due to the hard work of our scientists.”
2040 vision
Suparco chairman Maj Gen (retd) Ahmed Bilal, in an interview with Pakistani scientists were ‘on a learning curve’ which was why
they chose to ‘fast forward’ their expertise with the help of the
Chinese for Paksat-1R.
He clarified that China had given a soft loan for Paksat-1R, whereas
all the cost of the ground control facilities within Pakistan were borne
by the government of Pakistan.
Bilal remained vague on Suparco’s history, saying, “Yes, mistakes were made in the past, but we have to move ahead.”
When asked about the Vision 2040 programme that was approved by the
ousted prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani in January 2012, he said: “we
should be able to make, produce and launch our own satellite [in the
future]. That is our hallmark [sic].”
He said the Paksat-1R has a life span of 15 years and his suggestion
was to have another communication satellite in space by 2021.
“National demands will dictate the number of satellites the country needs,” he said.
He said that Pakistan should have at least three remote sensing satellites that should be launched every three years.
“We will be focusing on different types of remote sensing satellites and their applications in the next seven-eight years.”
But if Suparco’s vision for 2040 is limited to building and launching
our own satellite, one wonders how far ahead the rest of the world will
be in the space race by then.
